And it’s the wrong answer. In a recent column about luggage, I suggested that a simple rulemaking by the Transportation Department could compel airlines to include one piece of checked luggage as part of the base fare. I recommended that readers write the DOT to let it know they supported such action.
From the monthly archives:
July 2009
Less than one-third of Americans have passports, compared with more than half of Canadians. And if you’ve ever wondered why, then it’s probably been a few years since you tried to get one. I applied for three passports yesterday, and I’m here to tell you the real reason why most Americans lack a passport.
A one-on-one conversation with Frontier Airlines’ Cliff Van Leuven on the eve of a surprise bid by Southwest Airlines. Plus, an “unethical” travel agent speaks and the problem with a collection agency.
Cliff Van Leuven is the vice president of customer service at Frontier Airlines, the Denver-based regional airline. I asked him about how the carrier’s turbulent year so far, including a trip through bankruptcy court, a different take on fees and the likely bidding war between Republic Air and Southwest Airlines to take over Frontier. I also wondered how late-summer travelers can get the best customer service from a struggling airline industry.
Remember Jerry Ginnis, the traveler who booked a Bermuda vacation online, only to have the reservation taken over by a travel agent? The original story provoked an outcry from the travel agency community, and a follow-up post did little to placate it. I didn’t name the travel agency in either post because I wanted to wait for its its side of the story. Well, the wait is over.
Travel companies routinely use collection agencies as tools to enrich themselves at their customers’ expense. That’s what seemed to be happening to Gabrielle Durana when her online travel agency tried to strong-arm her into paying $1,700 for an airline ticket it lost. But looks can be deceiving.
All this talk of higher airfares begs for some perspective. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics just released its latest airfare data, which showed a record decline of 9.1 percent decline in ticket prices.
Want to vacation somewhere inexpensive? Try Winston-Salem, N.C., which is the most affordable major American city, according to Mercer’s latest city ranking. What makes the Twin City so cheap? Just about everything, according to the survey.
Remember Prime Travel protection, the Colorado travel insurance company that shut down amid allegations it sold unlicensed policies? Turns out it’s not dead yet.
Travel can be an olfactory experience, by which I mean everything smells. Even your rental car.
Megan Boing booked two tickets from Chicago to London on Virgin Atlantic Airways for her honeymoon. Then the airline canceled her flights. Normally, it would offer her two options: either a full refund or a new flight of its choosing. But that’s not what happened.
Don’t miss a subversive MSNBC column about how to prevail in a credit-card dispute. I also have some insights into the power of nice and a remarkable story about an airline refund that went nowhere.
It’s been nearly a decade since the Federal Trade Commission launched Operation Travel Unravel, a sweeping program that targeted travel industry fraud in America. Since then, the agency’s only major travel-related initiative — apart from an enforcement action or two — appears to have been to launch an interactive game designed to increase consumer awareness of travel industry mischief.
When I arrived at Gate K9 at O’Hare yesterday, it wasn’t a pretty picture. American Airlines flight 1400, delayed by an hour, looked completely full. A long line stretched from the gate to the McDonald’s across the hall. Even if they could squeeze one more passenger on the plane, they’d probably charge me.
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